Mika was out running her Mach 102 on the outskirts of the city. She found a more secluded area to be the best place to not be distracted while driving. She had a big race coming up at the end of the month and the people of the russian sector would not be happy if she lost. She loved racing and needed to keep doing it in order to support her family. Mouths were hard to feed in Minos there wasn’t a lot of food to go around and that meant the lavish lifestyle a racer was supposed to have was squandered for Mika. She loved all of her siblings but she had to many to count and almost to many to feed. She had found coming to the old track had put her worries into perspective. She had to drive through all of the japanese sector in order to get there but there was no one interested in watching her race there. The squatters who lived here hated racing so they kept far away from Mika. Sometimes she left food, when she could spare it, as a show of good faith before heading home from the track. Today was not that day, Mika had only managed to stop at a Eixobar Dispenser and get a protein bar before heading out this morning. The bar was cold and tough and tasted like if salt had a less flavorful disappointing brother. She chewed and swallowed and fantasized about driving to New Chicago and grab a slice of pizza. Her car smelled like home, the best home she had the vinyl was more comfortable to her than any furniture she had in her overcrowded house. The heater had finally made the car warm and despite the less than accommodating food choice Mika was happy. She needed this today. She just needed to go fast and leave the rest of the world behind for a few hours. She leaned into one turn than the next, everything falling away her cares being left behind not being able to keep up with the intensity of a car moving 300 miles per hour. Mika had been driving for a while and was about to take a break when she spotted something in the distance a strange light something she couldn’t quite describe. Curiosity got the better of her and before she knew it she found herself shifting gears and heading out of the track. And closer and closer to the edge of the city. The streets grew darker, colder, and emptier. But the light persisted in shining bright. Was no one else seeing this was the government of the japanese sector not curious about what the hell it was. Or was it only visible in these back streets that only the poor were forced to suffer living in. The fat cats at the center of the city choosing to ignore everything that did not directly affect them. Getting distracted by her anger at Minos’ economic system for a minute Mika did not realize how close she had crept up on the light. The light was emanating from a spaceship, but not one of the new ships the minor’s used to get resources from other moons, and not one of the long old ships that had been converted into the bones of Minos. It was sleek in a way that earth's chunky technology could not mimic. It was wide and thin in contrast to theirs which were tall and fat. The vessel also looked like it was built to house only one to maybe five people not fifty to hundreds like the ships she knew. It was also newer looking the paint fresh and no fading like when she first saw her car. It looked fast to and if there was one thing Mika was looking for in a vehicle it was speed. She saw movement inside as she stopped her car fifty feet away. The lights flickered and then they were turned off. They didn’t just pop out by themselves they were turned off deliberately, Mika could tell. She got out of her car quitely. She knew whoever, or whatever was in there knew she was here but she didn’t want to alarm them further. She quietly made her way to the back of her car and flinched at the sound of her trunk popping open any noise worrying her that she might raise the strange ships alarms. Did it have alarms or worse defenses. She managed to open her tool box without any of it’s normal clattering letting out a breadth with the small reassurance that it couldn’t have heard it. She pushed aside her rivet gun and pulled out the biggest rench she had, and than a smaller one just to be double safe. Than made her approach slowly. Then quickly. Then slowly again her heart racing. The loud exhale of a heavy door being opened caused her to duck behind some big bins. Then she heard something strange. It was a voice but the way the phonemes were being crafted was only human adjacent. “Deave, is thee at you” It called. She peered over the bins but could only see a shadow illuminated by the door behind her. The cold air suddenly hot on her skin. Dave? Is that what it meant. Who was Dave. “Dave” it called again clearer this time still not human but closer, trying to be human. Was this an alien. She knew the whispers about that knew racer. The one from another planet but this couldn’t be her. This had to be a different one. She hadn’t had the chance to meet her, herself, only hearing whispers hear and there. She believed them though. And now, she was only twenty feet from an aliens doorfront. Lights flickered on smaller ones. She cautioned a glance. They were fairy lights illuminating what looked like a front yard. Was the alien starting a grill up. She took the risk hoisting her bigger rench over her shoulder and stepped into the light. “Oh you’re not Dave.”
Mouths were hard to feed in Minos there wasn’t a lot of food to go around and that meant the lavish lifestyle a racer was supposed to have was squandered for Mika. She loved all of her siblings but she had to many to count and almost to many to feed.
She had found coming to the old track had put her worries into perspective. She had to drive through all of the japanese sector in order to get there but there was no one interested in watching her race there. The squatters who lived here hated racing so they kept far away from Mika. Sometimes she left food, when she could spare it, as a show of good faith before heading home from the track.
Today was not that day, Mika had only managed to stop at a Eixobar Dispenser and get a protein bar before heading out this morning. The bar was cold and tough and tasted like if salt had a less flavorful disappointing brother. She chewed and swallowed and fantasized about driving to New Chicago and grab a slice of pizza.
Her car smelled like home, the best home she had the vinyl was more comfortable to her than any furniture she had in her overcrowded house. The heater had finally made the car warm and despite the less than accommodating food choice Mika was happy. She needed this today. She just needed to go fast and leave the rest of the world behind for a few hours. She leaned into one turn than the next, everything falling away her cares being left behind not being able to keep up with the intensity of a car moving 300 miles per hour.
Mika had been driving for a while and was about to take a break when she spotted something in the distance a strange light something she couldn’t quite describe. Curiosity got the better of her and before she knew it she found herself shifting gears and heading out of the track. And closer and closer to the edge of the city. The streets grew darker, colder, and emptier. But the light persisted in shining bright.
Was no one else seeing this was the government of the japanese sector not curious about what the hell it was. Or was it only visible in these back streets that only the poor were forced to suffer living in. The fat cats at the center of the city choosing to ignore everything that did not directly affect them. Getting distracted by her anger at Minos’ economic system for a minute Mika did not realize how close she had crept up on the light.
The light was emanating from a spaceship, but not one of the new ships the minor’s used to get resources from other moons, and not one of the long old ships that had been converted into the bones of Minos. It was sleek in a way that earth's chunky technology could not mimic. It was wide and thin in contrast to theirs which were tall and fat. The vessel also looked like it was built to house only one to maybe five people not fifty to hundreds like the ships she knew. It was also newer looking the paint fresh and no fading like when she first saw her car. It looked fast to and if there was one thing Mika was looking for in a vehicle it was speed.
She saw movement inside as she stopped her car fifty feet away. The lights flickered and then they were turned off. They didn’t just pop out by themselves they were turned off deliberately, Mika could tell.
She got out of her car quitely. She knew whoever, or whatever was in there knew she was here but she didn’t want to alarm them further. She quietly made her way to the back of her car and flinched at the sound of her trunk popping open any noise worrying her that she might raise the strange ships alarms. Did it have alarms or worse defenses.
She managed to open her tool box without any of it’s normal clattering letting out a breadth with the small reassurance that it couldn’t have heard it. She pushed aside her rivet gun and pulled out the biggest rench she had, and than a smaller one just to be double safe.
Than made her approach slowly.
Then quickly.
Then slowly again her heart racing.
The loud exhale of a heavy door being opened caused her to duck behind some big bins. Then she heard something strange. It was a voice but the way the phonemes were being crafted was only human adjacent.
“Deave, is thee at you” It called. She peered over the bins but could only see a shadow illuminated by the door behind her. The cold air suddenly hot on her skin. Dave? Is that what it meant. Who was Dave. “Dave” it called again clearer this time still not human but closer, trying to be human. Was this an alien. She knew the whispers about that knew racer. The one from another planet but this couldn’t be her. This had to be a different one. She hadn’t had the chance to meet her, herself, only hearing whispers hear and there. She believed them though. And now, she was only twenty feet from an aliens doorfront.
Lights flickered on smaller ones. She cautioned a glance. They were fairy lights illuminating what looked like a front yard. Was the alien starting a grill up. She took the risk hoisting her bigger rench over her shoulder and stepped into the light.
“Oh you’re not Dave.”